''The Killing Man'' (

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

) is

Mickey Spillane Frank Morrison Spillane (; March 9, 1918July 17, 2006), better known as Mickey Spillane, was an American crime novelist, whose stories often feature his signature detective character, Mike Hammer (character), Mike Hammer. More than 225 million c ...

's twelfth

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

featuring

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

Mike Hammer Michael Hammer or Mike Hammer may refer to: *Michael Armand Hammer (1955–2022), American philanthropist and businessman *Michael Martin Hammer (1948–2008), engineer and author *Mike Hammer (character), a fictional hard boiled detective ** ''Mick ...

Plot summary

The Killing Man is a typical Mike Hammer murder mystery, only in this story, the tables are turned and bad things are happening to Mike Hammer himself. Mike walks into his office to discover his beloved secretary, Velda, unconscious, the brutal murder of ex-mobster Anthony DiCica at Mike's desk, and a note from the killer signed Penta. Mike is in the middle and taking hits from the DA's office, the FBI, the CIA, and the mob, while being assumed to have been the intended victim when DiCica was murdered. Hammer then leaps into action, finding the perpetrator. This crime is bigger, however, involving not only himself, but an ambitious, lovely District attorney and several federal agencies. 1989 American novels Novels by Mickey Spillane E. P. Dutton books Mike Hammer (character) novels {{1980s-crime-novel-stub